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Company redesigns air compressors

LATEST COMPRESSOR TECHNOLOGY Companies are always keen to use the latest compressor technologies that can reduce their overall energy consumption

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QUIET OPERATION Compressors with low noise levels contribute to a conducive working environment

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5th February 2016

  

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Compressor manufacturer CompAir has redesigned its 160 kW to 250 kW oil-injected screw compressors in an effort to meet evolving customer requirements.

“By listening to our customer’s needs and wishes, and incorporating the latest technology and design concepts, we have delivered an impressive range of compressors featuring higher free air delivery, new compact footprint, lower noise levels, new split radial cooling fan design and a new controller, explains CompAir product manager Marcus Hamilton.

The new range includes models such as the L160, L200, L250 and L290 – all available in either fixed speed or regulated speed (RS), delivering improved capacities and pressures of 7.5 bar, 10 bar and 13 bar.

“The result is an exciting new range of gear and direct drive machines that deliver up to 12% more compressed air with the same kilowatt motor. With budget constraints and high energy costs being a major purchasing criteria for customers across the globe, we meticulously examined each component to deliver more benefits for less energy,” says Hamilton.

He adds that attention to detail was a priority. “For example, the suction of the coolest available air from an external, low-level intake to the air-end gives the ‘real life conditions’ advantage of enabling greater mass flow both into and out of the air-end – effectively giving the customer more compressed air per kilowatt and, hence, better overall performance.”

Hamilton says other areas, such as splitting the cooler fans and chambers to ensure lowest compressed air discharge temperatures, are achieved across the flow range, reducing customer’s downstream costs and developing new air intake filters, which have reduced change in pressure by 13% over previous designs.

“Together, these innovations demonstrate the wide-ranging level of design detail that has been incorporated into the range.”

Improved Energy Use
Hamilton says owners are keen to use the latest technologies that can reduce the overall energy consumption, especially considering that a compressor’s electricity usage can be up to 80% of the machine’s total operating costs.

He says CompAir’s new range of compressors can help with this as they use the company’s latest premium gear and direct 1:1 drive on RS machines, which increases efficiency and reliability.

“Customers can gain maximum energy efficiency improvements with the new premium efficiency inverter fitted in the RS variable speed machines, which can reduce running costs by up to 35%,” Hamilton says.

He adds that the inverter’s unique cooling concept uses the suction side of the compressor’s radial fans instead of relying on small, individual cooling fans, which means that the components are able to run cool continuously, for better energy efficiency and optimum reliability.

Easy Maintenance
Easy accessibility to all areas of the machine, including regular service consumables and coolers, makes the new range of compressors easier to service and more cost effective to operate, Hamilton says.

He adds that the re-engineered air-end has an integrated oil filter and thermostatic valve, limiting the number of tubes and hoses that would otherwise require routine replacement.

Higher reliability is also achieved with fewer points of leakage and the unit design means that there is greater space for cooling air to circulate, which prolongs its life.

“All major components are arranged to enable maintenance engineers easy access for routine servicing, which helps to reduce equipment downtime. A hinged cover on the oil separator and premium automatic motor bearing lubrication are just a couple of the features that are now on this new standard of compressor design,” says Hamilton.

Intelligent Design
At just 6.2 m2 for both the fixed and RS compressors, they have an exceptionally small footprint, which makes them ideal for installations where space is at a premium, says Hamilton.

“The low speed air-end, produced at our new centre of excellence in Germany, and radial fans with inverter options, ensure that the machines operate with low noise levels.”

Hamilton reveals that, in addition, to help companies control budgets and maintain a consistent, high performance from their new compressors, CompAir provides its free Assure extended warranty scheme on all models.

He says, unlike typical yearly-based warranties, Assure operates on a number of compressors running for hours and is provided free-of-charge for up to 44 000 hours operating time, or 6 years.

“Assure is designed to protect the customer’s investment by ensuring that scheduled maintenance is carried out by CompAir’s network of authorised service providers, using genuine CompAir spare parts and lubricants, he concludes.

Edited by Zandile Mavuso
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Features

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